For a person who must be confined to a bed for an extended period of time, a footboard assembly is often employed to provide necessary positioning and support of the legs of the bedridden person. The feet of a person lying in bed on her back will normally extend obliquely from the legs, as opposed to extending generally perpendicularly from the legs when she is standing. It has been found that when the foot remains relaxed in the obliquely extending position for long periods of time, as is the case for a bedridden patient, the muscles of both the legs and feet undergo a deleterious deterioration. To prevent this occurrence, devices have been designed for use with hospital beds which maintain the feet and legs in positions which allow the muscles to be suitably conditioned to make up for their lack of proper exercise.
In the prior art, these devices have taken the form of footrests supported on a bed and selectively movable between beds. These footrests have had in common the failure to accommodate hospital beds of differing configurations, constructions, and dimensions. The differences, such as the width of the frame and springs, the nature of the frame rails, the configuration of the safety rails, and the like, have accounted for the fact that many prior art footrests cannot be secured to various hospital beds with the rigidity required to provide stimulation to the legs and feet of the bedridden person. For example, some footrests are provided with clamping brackets which accommodate a variety of bed frame members, yet do not secure effectively to any of them.